For

Automatic, simple to use

Against

No Mac support

We've said it a thousand times, but we'll say it again: backing up your hard drive is boring, it is dull, and chances are you don't or can't be bothered to do it. Luckily for us there are dozens of companies that make a living out of making sure your photos, documents, videos and data aren’t lost when your computer crashes and dies a slow and painful death. One of those companies happens to be HP.

Its premise is that it believes, probably rightly so, you can't be bothered to work out how to back-up your files. Its answer is that once you plug the SimpleSave in, it will scour your hard drive for relevant data and then back that up on a drive so you don't have to do remember anything.

Click yes to the licence agreement and that's about it. Software comes on the drive so there are no accompanying CDs and the quick start manual consists of two drawings - plug it in and away you go. For the control freak in you there are options to control everything, but as the name suggests everything is kept simple.

You can select which types of files are included in your backup process and which aren't and these include music, video and photos as well as emails and web page files. Basically you can drill down to a file type or location if you want to be specific or probably more likely the case, opt for blanket backup coverage.

Once selected the drive gets to work doing its job. The ability to isolate certain file types is really handy for photographers for example as you can select or deselect as appropriate and transfer speeds are via USB2.0 meaning it should be fast enough for most of your backup requirements.

Recalling back the files is equally straightforward. The software allows you to search through the drive and find that missing file with minimal of fuss.

Verdict

The HP SimpleSave is, as the name suggests, a simple way to save your data away from your computer in case it kicks the bucket. The simple to use software is unlikely to give you any hassles and the restoring process is equally simple.

If you leave it plugged in, you can set it up to automatically check for when files have changed and back those up without thinking about it. Coming in 320GB and 500GB sizes should give you plenty of storage.